Cut-out (recording industry)
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In the recording industry, a cut-out refers to a deeply-discounted or remaindered copy of an LP, cassette tape, Compact Disc, or other item. When LPs were the primary medium for distribution or recording, manufacturers would physically cut the corner or add a notch to the sleeve of unsold records returned from retailers; these "cut-outs" might then be re-sold to record retailers or other sales outlets for sale at a discounted price. A special section of a record store devoted to such items was known as the cut-out bin or bargain bin. As tapes and CDs supplanted LPs, the mechanisms for indicating a cut-out changed -- often a hole or mark was burned or melted through the case of the item and its printed insert -- but the terminology remained in place.
Sometimes books and other remaindered products are also referred to as "cut-outs," even when no physical indication of such status exists.
